Trona Pinnacles

The Trona Pinnacles are one of the most visually striking landscapes in the American West — over 500 tufa spires rising from the flat, barren expanse of the Searles Lake dry lake bed, some reaching heights of 140 feet. Designated a National Natural Landmark by the U.S. Department of the Interior, this geological wonder formed between 10,000 and 100,000 years ago when Searles Lake was a large inland body of water fed by the Owens River system.

The pinnacles are composed of calcium carbonate (tufa), which formed underwater around freshwater springs where calcium-rich spring water mixed with the alkaline lake water. As the lake dried up over millennia, the tufa towers were exposed, creating the otherworldly landscape visible today. The formations come in three distinct types: tall, thin spires; short, rounded mounds; and broad, massive towers — all scattered across roughly 14 square miles of desert.

Hollywood discovered the Trona Pinnacles decades ago, and the location has appeared in over 30 film and television productions. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, Planet of the Apes (2001), Battlestar Galactica, and even a Lady Gaga music video have used the pinnacles as a stand-in for alien landscapes. The area is also one of the premier dark sky locations in Southern California, with Bortle Class 2-3 skies that reveal the Milky Way in stunning detail on moonless nights.